During World War II, German field marshals commanded vast armies and held enormous power. But those who defied Adolf Hitler risked everything. Some resisted the dictator and were executed inside German prisons in horrific ways. At the end of the conflict, another field marshal was executed following the Nuremberg trials.
German field marshals were considered among the best military leaders in the world. Yet several of them ended their lives at the end of a rope or before firing squads. This is the story of how German field marshals were executed and the dark tales behind their final days.
Erwin Rommel rose to fame as a brilliant tactical commander. After his successes leading panzer forces, he was placed in command of German troops in Africa. The Afrika Korps commander became known as the Desert Fox and eventually reached the rank of field marshal.
In 1943, Rommel was tasked with overseeing the construction of the Atlantic Wall. This offensive-minded commander was now responsible for defensive plans. He was ordered to try to repel the inevitable Allied invasion of France, which came on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Rommel was confident in Germany at the start of the war. But things changed against the German army with the defeat at Stalingrad. Rommel's confidence in Germany diminished, and so did his faith in Hitler. He also discovered the crimes of the concentration camps and the extermination operations happening across Europe. He came to believe Germany would lose the war.
Rommel may have been involved in the July 20 plot, which resulted in the bombing of the Wolf's Lair in 1944. He believed Hitler needed to be arrested and removed so the war effort could be managed better. He also believed peace with the Allies could be secured.
Three days before the bomb exploded at the Wolf's Lair, Rommel was seriously injured. A British plane strafed the car he was traveling in. Rommel was taken to the hospital and sent to Germany to recover.
Rommel's name came up in investigations after the explosion. He was linked to the conspiracy. The exact nature of his knowledge or involvement was debated. But it was likely he was implicated because it was no secret that Rommel was angry with Hitler and defeatist at that time.
Hitler believed Rommel should be eliminated. But Hitler faced a major problem. Rommel was a hero to the German people. The Nazi propaganda machine under Goebbels had spent years portraying him as a near-sacred figure. Hitler could not tell the German people that Rommel was a traitor. He believed that would be another nail in the coffin of the Third Reich's morale.
So Hitler decided to force Rommel to end his own life. Then he would cover up the truth by claiming Rommel died from wounds suffered in an earlier air raid.
Rommel was recovering at his home in Herrlingen with his family. October 14, 1944, was the last day of Erwin Rommel's life. That morning, he woke up likely knowing he would never wake up in his bed again.
In the days before, his 15-year-old son Manfred had joined an anti-aircraft crew near the family home. On the day of Rommel's death, Manfred received permission to go home. Manfred's account is the main source that helps us understand the last 24 hours of Erwin Rommel's life.
At seven in the morning, Manfred Rommel arrived at the family home. He noticed his father was eating breakfast. Manfred sat with his father and they ate together. Afterwards, father and son walked in the garden for fresh air.
Rommel had been told he would attend a meeting. He knew in advance that this meeting could decide his fate. He told his son that two generals would come at noon to discuss his future. He said he would know that day what was planned for him. It would either be the People's Court or a new command post in the East.
He told his son the enemy in the East was so terrifying that everything else came second. He said if the enemy occupied Europe, even temporarily, it would be the end of everything that made life worth living. He said he would go to the East.
Shortly before noon, Rommel went to his bedroom. He changed out of his civilian clothes and put on his Afrika Korps jacket, his favorite uniform.
Around noon, a dark green car with a Berlin license plate stopped in front of Rommel's house. Inside the home were Rommel, his son, and Captain Hermann Aldinger, an old comrade who lived with them.
Two generals approached the house: Wilhelm Burgdorf and Ernst Maisel. They knocked and were let in. They were respectful and spoke to Mrs. Rommel. Then they asked to speak with Rommel alone.
A few minutes later, Rommel came downstairs and spoke with his wife. His son followed him and saw that his father looked very pale. Burgdorf and Maisel had given him an ultimatum.
The ultimatum was to go with them to Berlin to face the People's Court. This would certainly lead to his execution by means such as the German guillotine or the hanging beam at Plötzensee prison. Many military officers and generals faced these fates after the July 20 plots. The hanging beam at Plötzensee had a number of hooks so many people could be hanged at once.
Rommel's other option was to go with the two men and then end his life using a cyanide capsule that Burgdorf and Maisel had brought. If he chose this option, he would receive a formal funeral and be buried with full military honors. His family would receive a full pension.
There was a third, less preferable option. Rommel could accompany Burgdorf and Maisel directly to Hitler. He would have to defend himself before the Führer, which terrified him.
It was clear he was being coerced to end his life. That is what he chose.
Rommel spoke to his son and said he had just told his mother that in a quarter of an hour he would be dead. He said it was hard to be killed by your own people, but the house was surrounded and Hitler was accusing him of treason. In recognition of his service in Africa, they would give him the chance to die by poison. The generals had brought the poison with them. It kills within three seconds. If he accepted, no action would be taken against his family or his staff.
Rommel was frank with his son. Manfred asked if he believed all this. The Desert Fox replied that he believed it was in their interest not to let the whole matter come to light. He had been ordered to make Manfred swear silence. If one word of this got out, they would no longer feel bound by the agreement.
His son asked if he could defend him and take up arms against the generals. Rommel said there was no point. The death of one man was better than everyone being killed in an armed confrontation. They had almost no ammunition anyway.
Rommel said goodbye to his son and asked him to summon Captain Aldinger. Aldinger had been talking to the general's driver and could not see Rommel. When he learned what was happening, Rommel told him they would give him a formal funeral. He had asked for it to be held in Ulm. In a quarter of an hour, Aldinger would receive a phone call from the Wagner School hospital in Ulm. They would tell him Rommel had suffered a brain seizure on the way to the conference. He had to go. They had given him only 10 minutes.
Rommel said his final goodbye. His son helped him put on his leather jacket. Rommel took out his wallet containing 150 Reichsmarks. Aldinger told him he would not need his wallet where he was going.
Rommel walked through the hallway and saw his German shepherd, which jumped on him. He asked his son to lock the dog in the study. Everyone left the house where the generals were waiting at the gate. They saluted Rommel as he approached. A group of villagers had gathered to see what was happening.
The car was running, and the SS driver opened the door for the field marshal. Rommel shook hands with his son and Captain Aldinger, holding his field marshal's baton under his left arm. He got into the car, and the generals sat beside him. The doors were closed. Rommel looked forward and to the side as the car drove off.
The car left Herrlingen. The driver, Heinrich Doose, took a short trip outside the village. They only drove a few minutes. Then Doose and General Maisel got out, leaving Rommel and Burgdorf inside. They were gone for five minutes. When they looked toward the car, Burgdorf signaled them to return. The driver noticed Rommel had collapsed on the back seat after taking the cyanide capsule meant for him.
To suggest he died of other causes, Rommel was taken to the hospital. But he could not be revived, of course.
Rommel's son later discovered the car had stopped to kill his father only a few hundred meters from the house, in an open space at the edge of a forest. Ten minutes later, the Rommel family was informed of Erwin Rommel's death. The driver returned, claiming he saw Rommel collapse while the marshal's baton fell from his hand.
Others said that after 25 minutes the phone rang. Aldinger answered. The caller was Major Aldinger from Ulm. He said a terrible thing had happened. Marshal Rommel had suffered a brain hemorrhage in the car. He was dead. Aldinger did not answer. The caller asked if he had heard. Aldinger said yes. The caller said he would return home immediately.
Aldinger slowly climbed the stairs to Rommel's widow. He did not need to say a word.
The official Nazi party story of Rommel's death was that he died from wounds suffered in the air attack. Hitler declared a day of official mourning in his memory. A formal funeral was held. Instead of Berlin, it was held in Ulm at Rommel's request.
Hitler did not attend. He sent Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt to represent him. Rundstedt was not aware that Rommel had been killed on Hitler's orders.
The Allies later learned the truth from Rommel's widow and son, who wrote them a letter explaining what had really happened.
The truth behind Rommel's death was much darker. The Gestapo had been sent from Berlin in full force. They were secretly waiting in the area of Rommel's home and the nearby village, ready to shoot him and raid the house in case of any resistance. They may have been ready to arrest his son and everyone with him.
The SS driver later claimed that when he returned to the car he saw Rommel crying as he died. This was unlikely. Within three minutes of taking the cyanide, Rommel was certainly dead.
Ernst Maisel survived World War II and did not witness the death, as he was with the driver away from the car. General Wilhelm Burgdorf faced the same fate at the end of the war inside Hitler's bunker.
The Nazis seized Rommel's field marshal's baton and kept it inside Hitler's headquarters. Burgdorf boasted about his fate and showed the baton to people to brag. His cap was also taken.
There were false attempts to bring Rommel back to life. The Nazis forced a doctor to try to revive him just for show. One Nazi even pointed a gun at the doctor when he initially refused. Doctor Brederhof knew how Rommel had died, but the Nazis forced him to record the cause of death as a heart attack.
Today, Erwin Rommel is buried in a large grave in Herrlingen, a short distance from the family home where he was forced to choose his fate. In memory of his death, many former soldiers, including veterans of the African campaign, used to gather around his grave and memorial.
The last 24 hours of Erwin Rommel's life were cruel. He knew when he received the call about the generals coming to see him that there was a very high chance he would be killed. He was given no choice in the matter. He chose the honorable option, which provided his family financial support in the form of his pension. Rommel was then buried as a hero.
The German people believed he was the victim of an attack by a British plane on his convoy. But the bitter truth of Rommel's fate was darker. Their hero field marshal was eliminated by the Führer, who was losing control of World War II and losing control of his generals.
Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel was one of the most senior German military officers during World War II. For most of the conflict, he worked directly alongside Adolf Hitler and held one of the most powerful positions in the German armed forces.
Yet a little over a year after Nazi Germany surrendered, Wilhelm Keitel was dead. In the early hours of October 16, 1946, he was led to the gallows at Nuremberg prison and hanged.
His execution was not simply punishment for serving Hitler or for being a German general. Keitel was executed because the International Military Tribunal concluded he played a major role in planning aggressive wars. Most importantly, he issued and transmitted criminal orders that contributed to the deaths and mistreatment of prisoners of war, civilians, resisters, and many others across occupied Europe.
Wilhelm Keitel was born in 1882 and became a professional soldier long before Hitler came to power. He served during World War I and remained in the reduced German army permitted by the Treaty of Versailles after the conflict.
His career continued to advance. After Hitler began rebuilding the German armed forces, Keitel rose quickly through the military hierarchy. In 1938, Hitler reorganized the command structure of the German armed forces and created the High Command of the Armed Forces, known as the OKW. Wilhelm Keitel became its chief.
This position made Keitel exceptionally close to Hitler. However, the OKW did not function as an independent military command capable of restraining the dictator. Hitler increasingly dominated military decisions. Keitel became notorious among some other German generals for his willingness to agree with Hitler's opinions. His critics mocked him with the nickname "Lakaitel," a play on the German word "Lakai," meaning a servile lackey.
Whatever his personal reservations about some of Hitler's decisions, Keitel repeatedly signed and transmitted orders on behalf of the Führer. This became very important after the war.
The prosecutors at Nuremberg were not merely interested in proving Keitel was close to Hitler. They wanted to prove he deliberately participated in policies that violated the laws and customs of war.
One of the main charges against Keitel concerned Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Operation Barbarossa was not planned as an ordinary military campaign. Hitler considered the war against the Soviet Union an ideological and racial struggle. Therefore, the invasion was accompanied by a series of brutal orders that deliberately weakened the usual protections given to enemy soldiers and civilians.
Among the most notorious was the Commissar Order. Soviet political commissars captured with Red Army units were to be identified and killed or executed rather than treated as ordinary prisoners of war. The order was explicitly criminal because it authorized execution without trial. Keitel was part of the command structure through which such policies were put into effect. The Nuremberg judges concluded he could not simply distance himself from what was happening.
Another important issue was the treatment of civilians and resistance movements. As German forces occupied vast areas of Europe, partisan warfare became a serious problem. Hitler demanded harsh reprisal operations. Instead of limiting punishment to those actually responsible for attacks, German forces carried out reprisals against hostages and civilian populations.
Keitel was directly associated with that policy. In September 1941, he issued an order concerning resistance to German occupation calling for extremely harsh reprisals. The document suggested that the killing of one German soldier might be answered by the execution of 50 to 100 communists or enemies. Such orders helped create an environment where huge numbers of civilians could be killed in retaliation for resistance attacks.
Keitel was also linked to the notorious Night and Fog Decree. Issued in December 1941, this policy aimed to intimidate resistance movements in German-occupied Western Europe. People accused of resisting German rule were to be kidnapped and secretly transported into Germany. Their families were often deliberately denied information about what happened to them.
The idea was simple and frightening. If opponents of Nazi occupation simply disappeared without explanation, the uncertainty would spread fear among the population. Some prisoners were tried before special courts, while others ended up in concentration camps. Many died or were simply executed. Keitel signed directives related to implementing the decree through the armed forces.
There were other charges as well. The prosecution presented evidence concerning the treatment of prisoners of war, captured Allied leaders, and other groups that should have been protected by international law. Hitler's Commando Order of October 1942 directed German forces to kill Allied commandos found in Europe and Africa, even in circumstances where they could have surrendered and become prisoners of war. Keitel passed this order through the military command system.
After the war, this became another important example of why the "only following orders" defense was controversial. Keitel was not an ordinary soldier standing on a battlefield with an officer screaming instructions at him. He was a field marshal holding one of the highest positions, if not the highest, in the entire German military command structure.
When Germany finally surrendered in May 1945, Keitel's military career ended. He signed the German surrender document in Berlin-Karlshorst on May 8, 1945, on behalf of the German armed forces. He was arrested later and became one of the most prominent Nazi political and military figures tried before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.
The trial began in November 1945. Keitel faced all four main charges used by the court: conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The evidence against him included orders bearing his signature and documents passed through the OKW.
Keitel did not deny the existence of many of these orders. Instead, one of the central arguments of his defense was simple obedience. He presented himself as a professional soldier trapped inside Hitler's dictatorship. He argued he had sworn an oath of loyalty, and the German military system required him to obey the head of state.
At times, Keitel claimed he had disagreed with Hitler. But he generally remained in his post and carried out his duties. This raised one of the most important questions of the entire Nuremberg trial. Could a soldier escape responsibility for a crime simply because a superior commander ordered it?
The court's answer was essentially no. Orders from superiors could be considered when judging a person's circumstances, but they did not automatically absolve personal responsibility. An officer could not knowingly participate in clearly criminal acts and then claim complete innocence because someone above him had issued the order.
This principle was particularly damaging to Keitel because of his enormous seniority. He was not a junior officer with limited influence. He was a field marshal and chief of the OKW. His signature carried enormous authority. When an order was sent through his headquarters, it could influence the behavior of military formations across occupied Europe.
On October 1, 1946, the court delivered its verdict. Wilhelm Keitel was convicted on all four charges. The judges concluded he participated in the aggressive war machine and was involved in issuing or transmitting numerous criminal orders. He was sentenced to death by hanging.
For Wilhelm Keitel, the method of execution carried a special humiliation. He considered himself a professional soldier and requested execution by firing squad, traditionally considered a military form of death. His request was denied. The Nuremberg authorities considered the convicted defendants to be condemned criminals, not soldiers receiving an honorable military execution.
In the early hours of October 16, 1946, the executions began inside the gymnasium of Nuremberg prison. Ten condemned men were hanged that morning. Hermann Göring, the Reich Marshal, was scheduled to die with them. But he took his own life hours before his execution.
The American army executioner, Master Sergeant John C. Woods, carried out the hangings. Keitel's last statement evoked Germany and the German soldiers who died during the war. Then the death sentence was carried out on him.
His body was photographed, and like the other executed defendants, his corpse was secretly cremated. The ashes were scattered so that the grave would not become a shrine.
The fate of Wilhelm Keitel remains historically important because the trial addressed a question that extends far beyond one German field marshal. How responsible is a military officer for orders issued by political leaders? At Nuremberg, Keitel repeatedly portrayed himself as merely a soldier whose duty was to obey. But the court concluded that obedience has limits.
His position meant he possessed both knowledge and responsibility. He saw the nature of the regime he served and repeatedly allowed his authority and signature to be used to carry out brutal policies. Therefore, Wilhelm Keitel was not executed simply because Germany lost World War II, nor simply for serving as one of Hitler's generals. He was executed because the Nuremberg court found he personally participated in aggressive wars and helped issue and implement orders that violated the laws of war.
His execution became one of the clearest examples of the principle established at Nuremberg. Military rank and obedience to a leader cannot provide complete protection when an individual knowingly participates in war crimes.
Erwin von Witzleben was born in Breslau on December 4, 1881. He was the son of a captain in the Prussian army and came from a long line of military officers and nobles. In his youth, he was part of the Prussian cadet corps and studied at the military academy in Silesia near Berlin. He then joined the Grenadier Regiment "King Wilhelm I" No. 7 in Silesia as a lieutenant.
He received a number of promotions over the years. He was married with a son and daughter. With the outbreak of World War I, he became involved in the conflict. He initially served as an adjutant to a brigade in the 19th Reserve Infantry Brigade. He was then promoted to company commander in the 6th Reserve Infantry Regiment in October 1914.
He later became a battalion commander and fought with his unit at Verdun and Flanders. He did not avoid the battlefield. He was wounded and later awarded the Iron Cross First and Second Class. After his injury, he was sent for training with the General Staff. He finished the war as a senior staff officer with the 121st Division.
After the war, harsh conditions were imposed on Germany regarding the military. This included limiting the number of soldiers to only 100,000 for service within the Reichswehr, the new German army, to ensure it was not too powerful. But Witzleben remained in the army. He became a company commander and was appointed major in 1923.
He stayed in the army before Hitler's seizure of power, holding very strong positions including the rank of colonel. When Hitler took control of the German state, Witzleben was transferred to become commander of the 6th Infantry in Hanover. He was promoted to major general on February 1, 1934. He then moved to Potsdam to become commander of the 3rd Infantry Division.
He was clearly a trusted and respected member of the German army. Hitler was believed to value his skills as well. He was promoted to become commander of the newly formed Wehrmacht and the III Army Corps in Berlin in September 1935. He became a general of infantry the following year.
But Erwin von Witzleben was not an enthusiastic Nazi or a strong supporter. He was not a man with ties to the post-war Freikorps paramilitary militias. He eventually leaned toward the Nazi cause. But even a year after Hitler seized power, Witzleben made his opposition to Hitler clear.
Along with other generals, he demanded an investigation into a number of deaths that followed the Night of the Long Knives. That was the night the SS purged the SA stormtroopers and carried out many executions and killings. Hitler, sensing his discomfort with the Nazi cause, forced Witzleben into early retirement.
But he was later recalled to military service when Hitler began planning for World War II. He was seen as a competent and skilled general who would bring Germany more benefit than harm.
However, he became part of a group of conspirators known as the Oster Conspiracy. This group included Colonel General Ludwig Beck and even the head of military intelligence, Wilhelm Canaris. They were planning to overthrow Hitler early to impose a military coup that would prevent a second world war within years. They felt war was looming in the aftermath of the Sudeten crisis.
The fact that Hitler was given land by the countries after the Munich Conference left the conspirators in shock. Witzleben could have been an important part of the coup because he would have led his units in Berlin. In November 1938, Witzleben was commander of Army Group 2 in Frankfurt. He continued to participate in plotting against Hitler and the Nazis. He even planned to consider a direct attack on the Nazi headquarters to arrest Hitler.
With the outbreak of World War II and the invasion of Poland, Erwin von Witzleben was a colonel general and commander of the 1st Army on the Western Front. After the German invasion of France, his forces broke through the Maginot Line. Within three days, his effective leadership forced a number of French divisions to surrender to the Wehrmacht.
He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He then became a field marshal. Hitler was very impressed with his actions and leadership. He later became commander-in-chief of the Western Front, succeeding Gerd von Rundstedt. But he left this position for health reasons. Some claim he was forced into retirement again after opposing and criticizing the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.
As the Stauffenberg conspiracy, or the July 20 plot, to assassinate Hitler escalated, Witzleben participated. He was considered a pivotal man in the plans to seize power in Germany. The conspirators were trying to blow up Hitler with a bomb. They would appoint prominent people involved in the plot to positions of power.
Witzleben was to take command of the entire Wehrmacht and German army as the highest-ranking German officer. This meant he would ultimately be responsible for the war effort and army operations.
When the plot was organized and the date set, things went slightly wrong from Witzleben's point of view. Stauffenberg was supposed to place a bomb in the Wolf's Lair. Witzleben was supposed to arrive at the Bendlerblock in Berlin, where the conspiracy headquarters was to be located. But he arrived late. When he arrived at 8:00 pm, it was already clear the coup had failed.
He was furious at the failure and realized how serious his involvement was. He then returned to the Army High Command headquarters at Zossen. But he was arrested the next day at his country home.
He was dishonorably discharged from the Wehrmacht and charged with high treason.
Erwin von Witzleben was part of the first group of conspirators brought before the court. He was held in very harsh conditions and interrogated by the Gestapo. It is believed they tortured him for information.
While inside the courtroom, he gave the Nazi salute to Roland Freisler, the judge presiding over the court. The judge was berating the defendants and screaming at them. It was clear what their fate would be.
On August 7, 1944, the same day the trial began, Witzleben was sentenced to death. When he spoke to the court, his last words were: "You can hand me over to the executioner. In three months, the angry and tormented people will call you to account and drag you alive through the dirt of the streets."
His trial was shown in weekly newsreels. But Goebbels decided not to show parts of it because he did not want to draw attention to the conspiracy.
Witzleben was sentenced to death quickly, and his execution was carried out with extreme speed. It is believed that on the same day, or in the early morning of August 8, 1944, he was taken back to Plötzensee prison in Berlin.
Inside the prison, there was an execution chamber built of brick in one of the courtyards. Thousands of opponents of Nazism or dissidents were executed there using the guillotine or by hanging on a beam in the room. Many people could be executed there within an hour. Some were hanged together on the beam.
But the execution of Erwin von Witzleben in particular was extremely brutal. Hitler had given instructions to make sure the people who tried to kill him in that plot faced the worst kind of execution. He also ordered the executions to be filmed so he could watch them while recovering from his wounds and bruises. He watched these sadistic killings from the comfort of his home. It is claimed he watched them again and again.
Witzleben was to be led to the execution chamber to be hanged. As a military officer, he should probably have faced a firing squad. But he was considered a traitor, so they wanted him to suffer.
On the beam there were a number of meat hooks and also a thin hemp rope. People who witnessed his execution described it as a piano wire. This was incredibly brutal. Piano wire is sharp as a blade. If bodies were dropped from a height using it, it could decapitate because it tears through the neck. But it also caused blood flow to stop very quickly.
If the person was not dropped, they would be lowered slowly so the wire would begin to strangle them tightly. As the piano wire grew tighter, blood would no longer flow. Sometimes the wire would cut through tissue down to the bones of the neck. It was extremely painful. The ordeal could be stopped and started to ensure maximum suffering.
Many Nazi officers, when this was carried out, would not dare to watch. It was a truly horrific sight.
Erwin von Witzleben was hanged inside the execution chamber of Plötzensee prison using piano wire. His ordeal was carried out in front of a camera. Then Hitler watched it again and again.
Erwin von Witzleben was an influential and important German military general. He was seen as a strong and successful leader during World War II. But he was a man dissatisfied with the policies of the Nazi party. He decided on many occasions to express his opinion frankly about it.
He was ultimately part of Claus von Stauffenberg's conspiracy. If it had succeeded, it would have given him a great deal of power. But after it failed, he faced Hitler's wrath and the justice of the Nazi party. He was executed in a horrific and painful ordeal inside Plötzensee prison in Berlin.